Dwight D. Eisenhower Definitions

During presidencies, Eisenhower and Truman both struggles on how they would end the cold war around the globe. They had high expectations on how they would prevent the war in crippled Europe using America‘s foreign policy.

B. Support for #3: President Kennedy was most well-known for the Cuban Missile Crisis which began on October 14, 1962 and ended peacefully on October 28, 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest America had ever come to nuclear war (Reeves). President Kennedy wanted to put an end to racial discrimination.

Harry S. Truman was President of the United States from 1945-1953. President Truman presidency was marked throughout by important foreign policy initiatives. Central to almost everything Truman undertook in his foreign policy was the desire to prevent the expansion of influence of the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II it was immediately apparent that Russia was trying to draw as many countries as it could into its influence, if not total control. The United States became extremely alarmed as country after country did indeed fall under Russia’s

Germany and the capital, Berlin, was split at the end of WWII. The East Berlin and Germany were controlled by the Soviets and West Berlin and Germany was controlled by the US, France, and Britain. Since West Berlin was completely surrounded by communism, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, decided to prevent any shipments (including food) from going into West Berlin (Doc. B) in an attempt to starve them out. They created a blockade. When the US and its allies found out, they sent planes over to get the shipments and take them to the West Berliners which provided over two million people with supplies ranging from food to coal for nearly over a year (Doc. B).

Truman also worked on the containment issue. He worked really hard to stop communism in the United States and also not letting communists to be in the United States as well. He also supported the creation of the United Nations in order to avoid future world ward and to help solving conflicts peacefully. Another of his accomplishments was to create the Truman Doctrine that helped countries from Europe to be able to resist communist intervention.

From Eisenhower, Kennedy inherited the "Cold War" with the Soviet Union. In 1962, when American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S., many thought the nation was at the brink of war. Kennedy imposed a blockade of Cuba but promised not to invade, and the Soviet Union dismantled the missile bases, resolving the confrontation. (Upon seeing photos of the dismantling, Adlai Stevenson, now Kennedy's Ambassador to the U.N, famously said, "We are eyeball to eyeball with the enemy, and I think the other fellow just blinked.") Kennedy also promised to send Americans to the moon and bring them back safely before the end of the decade, and although he did not live to see it, his promise came true. He called his program to make things better for Americans "the New Frontier" and he started the Peace Corps.

Almost as soon as World War II had ended, the Cold War began, and the Soviets wasted no time in spreading their communist ideals to nearby countries by forcefully establishing communist governments. Soon after, they held on tightly to their eastern block of Germany as a first defense from western political thought, even going as far as blockading Berlin from any form of help, especially from the West. The West quickly responded by airlifting supplies that included food, coal, etc. . This marked the first instance of the American policy of containment, which was the idea that the Soviet Union and Soviet communism should not be allowed to spread (Background Essay). As time went on and acts of communism began to burst out globally, the U.S. policy of containment became an effective

John F Kennedy, who was president from 1960 to 1963, made a great impact during his presidency, he revolutionized politics on tv because it was the first televised

In 1946, Winston Churchill gave his Iron Curtain Speech at the Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. He described that war and tyranny results in devastation and distress for families and declared that this had to be prevented. Churchill spoke about how Russia was set on expanding their empire and how the U.S. would have to intervene in Russia’s plans. Churchill also advised for the formation of a closer relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain in order to stop the expansion of communism. Churchill realized that the state of Europe after WWII was vulnerable to communist nations.

Truman's overall presidency was a success and ended with a big win by ending the Korean War.

Another example of containment was when the Soviets demanded control of the water route in Turkey. Truman once again gave money so that Turkey would not be won over by the Soviet Union. Under Truman’s administration there would also come the Marshall plan, which allowed for $12 million in aid to be given to countries who were on the brink of communism. This not only helped keep democracy in Europe but it also led to an increase in exports from the US to Europe, boosting the American economy. NATO was also established, which was a military defense pact between countries, that explained if the Soviet Union attacked one country of NATO, that is an attack on all of them.

1. Truman’s Policy of Containment was that the U.S. would work to stop the spread of communism by providing political, economic, and military assistance to all democratic nations under the threat of communism or any external authoritarian forces. The political aspect of this policy was the alliances made during the Cold War. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was a defensive alliance among the U.S. and other European countries against the Soviet Union. This alliance still exists today. The Warsaw Pact was a defensive alliance that included the Soviet Union and its satellite governments in Eastern Europe. These alliances assured that if one country was attacked, then the others must react by coming to the defense.

In June 1947, the United States announced the Marshall Plan, intended to help economic recovery in Europe and thus prevent the spread of Communism in a Europe that was increasingly becoming “a breeding ground of hate”, thus providing a comforting environment for the rise of the Marxist ideology. At first, the Marshall Plan seemed to be a success, with economic aid worth $17 billion being made available to Europe and ensuring the protection of democratic governments in Turkey and Greece. Marshall Aid did help economic recovery in Europe, erasing unemployment and improving living standards greatly. Most Western European nations were happy to accept American aid in order to redevelop their economies. However, Stalin forbade any Eastern European countries from accepting the Plan and setup organizations like the Cominform and Comecon instead, to further tighten Stalin’s grip over Eastern Europe.

The Berlin Blockade was where the Soviets closed all the ways in for the americans and britians to help the people of berlin. The Soviets only did it because they did not like the way we introduced a new way of currency in Berlin.

The Berlin Blockade was meant to deny the access of food, water and medical supplies into West Berlin. Stalin believed that this would drive the Western powers out of West Berlin and that he was able to gain control over the whole of Berlin. This left the West with a dilemma, if they abandoned Berlin it would show weakness and lack of commitment, which Stalin could use advantage of and try taking over Germany; if they attacked they could provoke a nuclear war. The solution was a massive airlift that took over supplies into West Berlin to keep it intact. If Stalin shot the planes down he would have provoked a nuclear war as well. The West also placed an embargo on certain soviet goods which pressured her economy and therefore Stalin had to lift the blockade and entrance was allowed once again. This was a clear defeat towards the Soviet Union and the anger and the tension towards the West